Promise
by yvj
Summary: “You don't love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear.”  A dash of romance, a pinch of angst, a seasoning of meldodrama, equals heartwarming fluff.


A/N well here's my attempt at a one shot. I was in a fluffy mood and this is the result.

* * *

"**Love isn't finding a perfect person. It's seeing an imperfect person perfectly."**

Old man Robinson sat in his rocking chair that could always be found on the front porch of his house. He closed his eyes and rocked back and forth peacefully. Mrs. Robinson walked through the front door carrying two glasses of milk. She handed one to her husband, and then took a seat next in the rocking chair next to his.

She looked up at the night sky; the moon was full and bright. There wasn't a single cloud to be seen, the sky was crystal clear. "Anything new tonight?" she asked.

Her husband opened her eyes slightly and pointed to the house next door. "The Stoppables are having another fight. I'm telling you Gretchen this is it, they're finished."

Gretchen smiled. "Those two are at it again." She stared at the silhouette of two figures in one of the windows of the house next door. "Now that would be a shame."

Stoppable home:

Ron walked angrily into the living room, Kim followed closely at his heels. He tossed himself roughly on their couch and quickly grabbed a magazine.

"Ron, this time you're not going to ignore me, we need to talk"

He looked up at her incredulously. "I've already apologized to you, what more do you want from me?"

"I had a special evening planned for us tonight and you show up three hours late! I want an explanation!"

"I told you I was out with Felix, I sort of lost track of time and I guess I just forgot, ok. I've told you that like forty times."

"I had something important to tell you tonight and you don't even bother to show up for dinner."

"Ok, I'll say it again, I'm sorry. Jeez, what else do I have to say to get you off my back?"

"I want the truth! Two days ago you came home late and you were out with Felix. Last week you were 'with' Felix and you came home late. You must be having a great time with your friend Felix!" The sarcastic tone in her voice was quite obvious.

Ron stopped trying to focus on the magazine in his hand. He tossed it on their coffee table and stood up. He slowly made his way to Kim, until they were inches apart face to face.

"What are you trying to say Kim?"

"Where did you go tonight?"

He licked his lips. "I told you, I was with Felix, you do believe me right?"

She said nothing, while he chuckled softly.

"Kim, there have been some very tense moments between us lately. Some of it's my fault, and some of it is because you haven't cut me any slack…"

"You're the one who's been acting indifferent lately…"

He cut her off abruptly. "Now I'm not going to stand here and be accused of… I would never…" He couldn't even finish the sentence, he looked her directly in the eye. "I want to hear you say that you believe me or… I'm going to walk out of our house right now."

"I…" she began, but then she quickly shut her mouth, tears streamed down both sides of her cheek.

"Fine." He brushed past her and rushed towards the door. His hand was on the doorknob when she called out.

"Wait!"

She tossed something at him. It hit him in the chest and he grabbed it before it could fall to the floor. His fist clenched around the object, but he didn't bother to look at it. The fact was, somehow, he already knew what it was. He looked at her as more tears slid down her cheeks. His throat felt like it overflowing with cotton, he couldn't talk but he wanted to. He wanted to tell her she was making a mistake, that she was completely wrong. But then came pride, embarrassment, and finally anger. He turned the doorknob, stormed out and slammed the door of the house that they had built together.

The cold autumn air hit him like a truck but it actually cooled him down. He stood on the front porch for a moment, wondering if he should turn back right now. His fingers slowly felt around the circular object in his right hand. He opened his palm and looked down, just to confirm what he had already known.

Yes, he knew what it was, but it still hurt. His eyes focused on the small ring that glinted in the moonlight. There really was no turning back now and part of him wondered if he even wanted to.

On the Robinson's porch, Mr. Robinson shook his head. "I told you Gretchen, this is the end."

XXXXXXXXXXX

One hour later, Al's pub:

Ron stared gloomily at the ring as it continued to gleam next to a bowl of fortune cookies. Al Green's Let's Stay Together blared through the jukebox adding to the already miserable atmosphere. A group of casual acquaintances, including the bartender, sat around Ron's barstool. They had just spent the last few minutes listening to his sob story.

Ron paused from his story telling and grabbed a handful of cookies.

"So in the end, she threw you out," said one man.

Ron put the cookies in his pocket and dropped his head down onto the bar. "No, I walked out, that…" the ring glinted again. "This was bound to happen sooner or later. There was a lot of tension in the house."

"Why?" asked the bartender.

"Things just aren't the same as they used to be, we never talked unless we were fighting. Fighting over stupid stuff like the house, bills, the future. The more we fought the more I started noticing stuff about her that really annoyed me and plus…"

He took a deep breath. "I had these ideas about starting up my own restaurant, really big plans… but they fell through. Now, it's starting to look like it might never happen. I tried talking to her about it, but every time I look at her face, all I can see is what a failure I am. It came to a point where I felt more comfortable outside then in our house. Then tonight she accuses me of… I looked into her eyes, there's no trust there, not anymore."

He laughed. "There definitely wasn't this much pressure when we were just dating. Sometimes I wonder if I made a mistake, getting married."

"Of course you did. You rushed into something you weren't ready for. Hell, you married the first girl you had a serious relationship with," said the bartender.

"Maybe I did rush things… I never thought marriage would be this hard."

"That's the number one mistake young people make these days. You know what they say, fools rush in."

"But what about love? Yeah, true love, we have that, and with that alone we should be able to work out our problems out, right?"

"Son, do you even know what true love is?"

"Of course I… I mean what we've got is… what we had… I don't know, I thought I did but I don't."

Solemnly, Ron pushed away from the bar and grabbed the ring off the counter. "Maybe… maybe I did know once." On that note, he bid farewell to everyone and exited the bar. Once he was outside, he removed one the cookies from his pocket, and broke it open. He ate the pieces of the cookie and scanned the fortune paper.

**Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, and ends with a teardrop.**

_Perfect _

He sighed and looked up into the sky; the bright moon seemed to ease his sadness.

"_You know what they say, fools rush in." _

_Am I a fool?_

"_Do you even know what true love is?"_

He stood alone in front of the bar. There was something vaguely familiar about the sky tonight. He looked directly into the moon, and he started to remember.

XXXX

"What about the surprise?" Monique asked from the other end of the phone.

"I never got the chance to tell him Monique, how could I between all the fighting," she sighed. "Monique, he's grown so distant, and he comes home late. What else am I supposed to think? I couldn't take it anymore."

"Why didn't you guys talk this out before it got critical?"

"I've tried, but it's like there's some kind of barrier between us now. Sometimes I'd try to talk to him and it's like he's not even there, then I'd get mad, I'd yell at him. One thing leads to another and we're fighting again. Tonight… tonight was just the last straw."

"So you gave back the ring?"

"I was just so angry Monique, I didn't know what to do… it just happened."

"Don't you think that was a bit excessive?"

Kim went silent for a moment, before she began to sob softly. "I shouldn't have to deal with that kind of stuff Monique. God I just don't know who he is anymore, he's changed… or maybe I've changed."

"Kim, I'm really sorry but I've got any emergency here. I'm going to call you back, but don't do anything else without talking to me first."

Monique hung up abruptly, Kim held on to the phone listening to the dial tone. A picture on their night stand caught her eye. She put the phone down and grabbed the picture. It was a photo from their wedding, four years ago.

She put the photo down. Back then, she was sure that this was true love. But now she wasn't so sure, maybe they had rushed into things and made a huge mistake.

_Maybe we're growing apart_

She paused; she'd never expected a thought like that to ever cross her mind. It was Kim and Ron, Ron and Kim, Team Possible, they were supposed to be together right? Things had been fantastic before, but now something was missing.

She needed some fresh air, so she stepped out onto their balcony. The moon was the first thing she saw and its light shone down on her. She stared up at the sky, her mind reeling.

_How could it get this bad? We were supposed to be in love, weren't we? At least I thought we were in love, was I wrong? Were we wrong? Did we even know what true love was back then?_

The moon seemed to draw her eyes in; there was something familiar about tonight. She looked directly into and she started to remember.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

5 years ago: Somewhere in Eastern Quebec

Ron knelt down in the snow and brushed the snow off the blooming flowers. He was amazed that they were blooming this early, considering it was still February.

"They're called snowdrops, they can bloom in late winter."

Two Global Justice Agents from their Canadian branch approached Ron. They came towards him with full body armor on, although one was without his headgear.

"They will thrive in sun or shade," said the agent without a helmet.

Ron smiled at them. "Thanks for the info, they're beautiful."

The agent with no helmet on extended his arm out to Ron. "Mr. Stoppable, it's a real pleasure."

If the other agent weren't wearing a protective helmet, Ron would have seen the absolute shock on his face.

"He's Ron Stoppable; the one Dr. Director recommended bailing us out? This is the guy? He's that hot, red headed chick's partner"

Ron took a deep breath and smiled back politely "Yeah I'm Ron… and that chick is currently my girlfriend, so if you don't mind."

"I don't know what's a bigger joke, the fact that this guy is supposed to save our butts or the fact that he's dating such a hottie."

"Come on Frank, cut it out," said his partner.

"Are you serious, John?" Frank replied with a mix of amusement and anger. "They've ordered us to back off this mission so that this joke could do our job. A job we've trained for, it's insane! Look at him, does he look like he's ever been in a single fight."

"Alright Frank you've had a bad day, let's go cool off"

Agent Frank turned to Ron and sneered. "Just tell me one thing before I leave. How did you bag that Possible chick?"

John started to push Frank away. "Let's go."

Frank ignored him. "You better enjoy her while you can, there's no way she'd hang around a loser like y…"

John gave Frank a final shove and he finally got the picture. He flashed Ron one last dirty look and walked away.

"Sorry about that, he's just upset that we've been ordered off this assignment. He doesn't like to fail…"

"And why should he?" Ron said. "Who enjoys failure? I'm sure after a nice nap he'll be fine. Besides he's not first one to uh comment on… our relationship."

"Really?"

"Yeah, next time you're on the web, check out If you join their forums, you'll get a daily why Kim is too good for Ron newsletter in your inbox."

"Wow."

"Yeah, well after awhile, you just start to ignore the haters."

John grabbed Ron's hand and shook it. "Well Mr. Stoppable, I wish you good luck with today's mission. Once again it was a real pleasure."

As Ron watched John run after his fellow GJ agent, a cold wind chilled him down to the bone, but he still had a smile on his face. No cold wind, falling snow, or an ignorant agent could take away his smile today. He reached into the left pocket of his parka and pulled out a small black box. He opened it and stared at the glittering ring inside.

_Today's the day, after this mission, I'll go up to Kim and I'll say………… I'll say. Kim will you marry me._

He paused

_Kim will you marry me……….I swear I won't screw this up...please?_

"I really have to work on that."

XXXXXXXXXX

"We meet again Ms. Possible."

"Please Agent Williams, call me Kim."

"Then you can call me Cindy. Now I'd hate to say it but you're our last resort here. Dr. Director has assured us you'd be the best candidate for this mission."

"Oh please, you're making me blush. Now what exactly is the sitch?"

The wind snapped the flaps of the tent back and forth as Cindy presented Kim with a photo of a nearby mountainside. "Do you see that cave at the base of the mountain? That's the entrance to the Biolix. There's a medical lab in there where a group of scientists have spent years manufacturing **Rainbow,** the prototype of a dangerous virus. Needless to say, they wanted to keep their work a secret, so they created a high tech security system that's controlled by a super computer."

"Let me guess, the super computer has gone insane and it's turned on the people it was created to protect."

"You're as sharp as ever."

Kim shrugged. "Been there, done that."

Cindy continued. "Most of the scientists have managed to escape but there are still a few trapped deep in the facility. But we can't get pass the security, so we need you…"

"Wait a minute." Kim looked around her over her shoulder. "Wait a minute, where's Ron? He should be here for this briefing."

"I saw him wander off a few minutes ago. I thought you knew about that."

Kim sighed. "I'm going to have to attach a ball and chain to his leg, just to keep him in one place."

A smile came to Cindy's face. "Speaking of ball and chains, inquiring minds want to know… when are you two going to get hitched?"

"What?"

"Come on, you guys are practically a married couple."

Kim shook her head defiantly. "No, that has to be the last thing on our minds. We're still in school, and there's just too much going on in our lives right now. We're not ready for that leap. Maybe… maybe in a few years."

"Uh huh, are you sure you're not just speaking for yourself."

Kim shook her head again. "I know Ron and I'm pretty sure marriage is the furthest thing from his mind. Marriage, no, I don't think we're ready for that."

Someone coughed outside.

Ron entered the tent, his face a bit paler than usual.

"So where have you been?" Kim asked sharply.

"Sorry KP, I was just checking out some flowers," he said quickly.

Kim paused when she noticed the melancholy look on his face. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, I'm fine, I'm sorry about wandering off."

"It's ok, you don't have to apologize."

He looked at the ground. "Sorry," he repeated.

"Ugh," She turned back to Cindy, "let's start up from the beginning."

XXXXXXXXXX

A half an hour later:

Kim took another sip of hot chocolate and gazed thoughtfully at the corner of the cot where Ron had been sitting minutes before. There was something wrong with him, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

_Maybe he was sick, it is like thirty below outside_

She reached for her duffel bag to put away her favorite mug. The minute she unzipped the bag she realized it wasn't hers. She had mistakenly grabbed Ron's without thinking.

_What's this? _

Her eyes were instantly drawn to the small black box that lay on top of his ruffled clothes.

Once again without thinking, she quickly snatched the box out of the bag. She held it up in her gloved hand; even in the frigid cold her palms became sweaty.

Kim felt her heart beat fast and hard, pounding so hard that it was the only thing she could hear. Every hair on her body was standing on end, and there was a prickling sensation at the base of her spine.

Slowly and cautiously she opened the box.

_Oh my god!_

"Hey KP."

She instinctively hid the box behind his back, and positioned her to block Ron's view of the open duffel bag.

"Uh… yes?"

"Don't you think it's about time we got going?"

"That's a great idea, I'll be out in a minute."

Ron eyed her suspiciously. "Uh… ok I guess."

Ron left her alone and Kim let go of her breath. She slipped the box into her pocket and exited the cot. By the time she got out, Ron was already sitting on his snowmobile. He watched her closely as she walked out.

"Kim you looked a little flushed."

Lost in thought, she ignored him completely and took her place on her snowmobile. "Ron, do you have something to tell me?"

"What?"

She turned to him. "You know, is there anything important you want to ask me?"

Ron sighed. "Did I do something wrong that I'm not aware of?"

"No… no," she paused, "it's just that if you had anything important to ask me, then this is as good time as any."

Ron blinked at her a few times, he seemed to be mulling something over. Then he shook his head and strapped on his helmet. "I've got nothing."

"Really?" she said defeated. "Nothing?"

"Nothing I can think of."

"Ok, that's fine, let's get moving."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The pain came in slowly, like a small tide at the beach. His awareness was returning, and so did the intensity of the pain. He opened his eyes; he saw dots, multicolored dots, with every color of the rainbow.

"He's waking up."

There were people all around him, he could see but what was the deal with all these rainbow dots. They were floating around the medical tent, bouncing around in all directions, annoying but beautiful.

"Hey, you're going to be fine." Agent Williams told him.

Pain, pain in his neck, it felt like a dart had hit in the neck.

_Wait a minute, I did get hit with a dart_

Another memory, distant and confused.

"Scientists?" he said weakly.

"Don't worry, the scientists are fine. You guys managed to get them out."

_Good, we saved the scientists. Mission accomplished. These dots, they're beautiful, almost hypnotic. These pains though, it's intense, and I can barely move. What does this mean? I should ask Kim._

"KP."

"Just rest up Ron, we'll get you better."

Something is wrong, the tone in her voice is wrong. She's worried about something… where's Kim? She should be here, with me.

"Where's Kim?"

"Don't move… you've been infected with the rainbow virus. Any extraneous movement will cause the virus to spread faster through your system."

"What?" Visibly shocked, Ron attempted to sit up but he found that he was strapped down to a stretcher.

"Luckily for us it's just a prototype, it's not spread through the air," she explained clumsily.

_Infected how?_

He remembered traps, lots of traps, a medical lab, and syringes, flying syringes. Someone was calling… his mother? Who? His mother? No…

"Kim… where's Kim?"

"Don't move," Cindy shouted, "do you want to die?"

Ron stopped struggling. "What happened?"

"After getting you and the hostages out safely, she decided to go back into the base. I guess she thought she could find a cure in the med lab or anything else that could help you."

Ron said nothing.

"The security computer has somehow identified her as Biolix employee. And it's 'protecting' her by locking her in the medical lab…"

"Well go save her."

"… Unfortunately, the system's robotic sentries have now doubled and they're 'guarding' her."

Agent Frank entered the tent. "We've just received a message from Wade, it's started a self destruct sequence, and Possible is still trapped in the lab."

"How much time?"

"Twenty minutes," he replied solemnly.

Cindy turned towards Ron. "We don't have the manpower…"

Before she could finish, Ron began to trash violently against his restraints, causing Cindy to forcefully hold him down.

"Stop it right now, you've got keep your movements limited. We may be able to get a doctor flown out here to save you, but you've got to do your part and stay sill. Then maybe you'll have a chance…"

"You want me to lie here and do nothing?"

"Yes! If you want to live, you'll do exactly that. The only reasonable thing you can now is to try and survive, for her sake."

"For her sake," Ron repeated.

Cindy slowly let released her hold on him, he lay there motionless.

"I'm sorry." She turned to Frank. "I'm going to use the radio, make sure he doesn't move."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Fourteen minutes until detonation**

Kim gripped the crowbar tightly and furiously banged it against the metal door.

_Damn_

This door, this one door was keeping her from him. It was the only thing keeping her from giving the cure. The door had no key hole, no slot for a key card, it had nothing, it was impenetrable. She'd been banging on it constantly for the last six minutes. She used all her strength, everything she had but it wouldn't budge. She pounded away until her body started to become weary.

Bang

Bang

Kim struck at it again and again, until her arm could no longer hold up the crowbar, until she had nothing left, until she collapsed to the ground from exhaustion.

Sweat poured down her face when she collapsed from complete exhaustion.

"Ron, I'm sorry."

Beep-beep-be-beep

"I want to hear something good Wade."

"I've got good news and really bad news," he said softly.

"Give me the bad news first."

"The security system is too advanced, it's impossible for me to hack into it and open this last door or stop the self destruct sequence. I'm sorry."

Kim closed her eyes and let the news sink in, her fate was pretty much sealed.

"If I had more time to study the system, I wish I had heard about this program sooner…"

"It's ok Wade, you're smart enough already, It's not your fault. What's the good news?"

"If we can only get pass the door I could help you get you to a je…"

"Wade, it's alright. What's the good news?"

"Agent Williams has radioed for help, a doctor should be coming soon. Ron's got a fighting chance of making it without the cure you have"

"That's not good news Wade, that's great news!"

Yes, her fate was sealed, but Ron he might make it through. She couldn't help but feel relieved. He'll live, find a good wife, raise a great family in a big house with a white picket fence, and they'll all grow old together.

She smiled as tears unknowingly rolled down her face.

"Wade, I want you to give Cindy a message for Ron. I want her to tell him that… that I would have said yes," she said tearfully.

"Hold on," Wade replied, "oh man."

"What?"

"I'm sure she would love to give him the message, if he was with her."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ron stepped off the snowmobile, his heart pounding with exertion and anxiety. His body glowed faintly with a blue aura.

For the first time in his life he found himself thanking the heavens for Monkey Fist. If he had never met him, he would not have the power to break away from the GJ agents and make his way here. His own will wasn't nearly enough.

He took a single step toward the entrance, and pain shot through his body. His vision blurred but more rainbow dots appeared in front of his eyes.

He took another step, with the same result. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and ran forward.

Each step was a shock to his system, but at this point he didn't care.

The minute he stepped into the base he was attacked by a robot. They were very zombie like, slow, stupid, and they attacked in masses.

_Ah, just like the old days at good old Middleton high._

He kicked away a guard bot that got too close, batted one away with an elbow shot. Then he jump kicked one in the face, knocking its head off. The second he landed on the ground he sprinted forward.

_I've got to keep moving._

He fought as he ran, knocking down everything in his path.

_Forward…_

A bot charged at him. Ron sidestepped its attack and tripped it up with his foot. Through the corner of his eye he saw it fly past him, crashing into another group of bots.

_Forward…_

He spun, caught one in the skull with his heel. He ducked under a high attack, leapt over a low attack, cart wheeled between two simultaneously lunging robots and briefly watched as they crashed hard into each other.

_Forward…_

He stopped, and stared wide eyed at the sight in front of him. A dozen or so of them stood before him. One of the bots stepped forward, this one different from the others, for one thing it was carrying an axe.

_Ah, the alpha male._

Ron stumbled backwards, he could barely hold up his own weight. Later he would swear that he felt the deadly virus coursing through his body. The dots were everywhere.

_I'm starting to hate rainbows._

It was then that he realized that his breathing was abnormally shallow, and it finally dawned on him that he might actually die.

_Crap, death is just so… final _

The bots took a step closer, slowly surrounding him. He pulled himself together and took a fighting stance. He quickly recited a prayer in Hebrew that he learned at family funerals. Then he was finally ready to face them.

_This is where the valiant hero says something cool._

"Alright ladies, who's wants to play first?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Ten minutes to detonation **

Kim heard the brawl from inside the lab but she had no idea what was going. She was sitting on the floor with her back against the door, ready for the inevitable.

Loud crashes and banging echoed from behind the door.

Were the robots fighting amongst themselves? It wouldn't surprise her considering how dangerously random the security system was. Whatever was happening out there it was some brawl, complete chaos.

_Wait a minute… could it be… no_

Then, as quickly as the fight had started, it was over, there was nothing but silence. Kim got up slowly and placed her ear to the door.

She heard footsteps coming towards the door, not the metal clanking of bots but real human footsteps.

_It must be…_

"KP!" Someone breathlessly shouted from behind the door.

"Ron! Is that really you?"

Ron felt his spirits rise, it made him momentarily forget about the pain. He held up the axe that he managed to pry away from the now destroyed alpha male.

"Kim, I'm going to break this door down. I'm going to get you out"

He held the axe up and brought it down on the door hard.

Bang

It barely caused a dent.

"Ron, what are you doing?"

"Same thing I do every week. Something heroic."

He struck the door again, this time creating a faint scratch on it. Just then the dizziness returned he caught himself before he could fall to the ground.

"Ron, they told me about the virus. The more you move around, the faster it spreads through your body."

Bang

"Yep, I heard that same rumor."

_If I keep hitting the same spot, I might be able to bring this baby down._

"Ron did you hear me? You're just killing yourself!"

"Don't you read comic books Kim, the sidekick is always expendable." He gathered all of his remaining strength and he swung.

Bang

"This is no time for joking, do you want to die?"

"That's the question of the day isn't." He was seeing through double vision

_Focus _

Bang

"Stop it, go back, just go on without me!"

_Damn dots _

Bang

"Ron, please listen to me! You don't know what you're doing!"

"I know exactly what I'm doing. Handsome, blond haired slacker for worlds greatest and most beautiful red headed hero. I think it's a fine trade off." He coughed and a smattering of blood hit the ground.

She banged on the other side of the door "Stop it! You're going to die, don't you understand that? You're going to die!"

"We're all going to die sooner or later, but I'm not going to until I get you out of there!"

Bang

She beat harder on the door, tears pouring down her face. "Why… why are you doing this?"

Silence…

"KP, that's the stupidest thing you've ever asked me. I would think the answer is pretty obvious by now."

At a complete loss for words, she backed away from the door, his words echoing through her mind.

Bang

Slowly, she made her way to the crowbar she had abandoned minutes ago. She picked it up, gripped it tightly and smashed the sharp edge onto the door.

Bang,she hit…

Bang,he hit…

They didn't say another word, both of them took aim at the door and struck it with all their might. Soon they began to strike in unison, both of their hits connecting at the same time.

"_**You're weird, but I like you."**_

Bang

"_**You think there's a guy out there for me?" **_

"_**Out there... In here."**_

Bang

And then, miraculously, it happened on the last blow, one of them smashed through the door into the wiring inside. Sparks flew as electrical currents channeled through the door, with a loud whoosh it slid open.

Kim dropped the crowbar to the floor. Ron gave her one of his goofiest grins, the monkey power faded and he collapsed.

XXXXXXXXXXX

A brief darkness, and then he heard a familiar voice. It was Wade, Wade was talking.

"Take a left and then go straight, then you'll find the jeep and you'll avoid the guard bots"

Something was wrong… he was moving and yet he wasn't. That's when he realized he was being carried. He was draped over her back, and they were slowly moving forward.

He could hear her grunting under the pressure of his weight.

"Kim, what are you doing?" he said weakly.

"Same thing I do every week. Something heroic."

**Three minutes until detonation the alarm warned**

It was already too late for him he could feel it.

"Let me down, you'll move faster without me"

They shuffled along further. "Thanks for the newsflash, when we get home I'm putting you on diet. No Bueno Nacho for week"

"That'll probably kill me."

They laughed.

_This is wrong, she'll never make in time_

"Kim, you can't make it out with me, it's impossible"

"Ron, you of all people should know better then that. Did you forget my name?"

"Touché," he said, before passing out.

Another brief spell of darkness, he felt like he was flying.

"Ron!"

Someone slapped him. He opened his eyes.

"Here drink this." She handed him a beaker.

He drank most of the mysterious liquid. It was salty, at least he thought it was salty, he couldn't really tell anymore. He just wanted to sleep.

"Ron!"

His mind focused.

_When did they get into this jeep? _he wondered.

She grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him forward, her face just a kissable distance away from his.

_Beautiful lips…_

"Ron, don't close your eyes, you've got to stay awake!"

"But Kim, I'm so tired."

"No! I want you to promise me you'll stay awake."

"What?"

"Promise me that you'll stay awake. Promise that you'll never leave me!"

"…I promise I'll stay awake."

"And?"

"I promise I'll never leave you."

She kissed him tenderly on the lips.

"Kim, the viru…"

"Ron, at this point, I couldn't care less about catching that virus."

"We're so reckless…" he quickly stopped his eyes from shutting. They were moving now, moving quickly and dangerously.

A huge explosion rocked the base, everything shook like an earthquake had just hit. Through blurry eyes, he saw the exit just a few yards away. He felt the heat of onrushing flames on the back of his neck, and the cold breeze of the Alaskan air on his face.

"Hold on, this one is going to be close!" Kim shouted.

"Aren't they all?" he said, barely audible.

The back of the jeep lifted off the ground, the heat increased tenfold, suddenly they were flying.

XXXXXXXXX

Ron opened his eyes as a light, punishing snow collected on his face. He could barely move a muscle, he just lay there on his back staring into the night sky.

There was movement in the distance, someone was crawling towards him. "Ron, are you ok?"

_Good she was alright. _

"We made it Ron, we did it!"

_Not really, it might be a little too late for the Ron man._

His body was almost too weak for him to continue breathing. "Kim, I might not be able to keep that promise."

She continued to crawled over to him. "Well then, you're going to miss my wedding."

"Really, who's the groom?"

Using her teeth she pulled the glove off her right hand, then she put it over his face so he could see the ring on her finger.

"To a guy I've known for most of my life, and I want to spend the rest of it with him too." She reached for him and they were lightly just barely holding hands.

Ron smiled. "Sounds like a lucky guy."

"Well I'm a lucky girl."

The sound of an approaching helicopter filled the air. Kim rolled onto her back exhausted. They watched the sky for the rescue copter as a full moon shone down on them.

He let out a breath. "So… I'm guessing if I miss this wedding, I miss the honeymoon too?"

"Yep," she replied, before snuggling into his shoulder.

"Then it's probably to my advantage if I keep that promise."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The present:

Ron found himself in front of their door. Somehow, he'd wandered back home without realizing it.

"_Son, do you even know what true love is?"_

He felt ashamed, a few years ago he would have died for her. And now he was ready to throw it away over some petty arguments? He reached for the doorknob, but pulled back.

_Reflection time_

Was he sure about this? He'd risk his life for others before but that didn't meant he loved any of them. Why was he really here, in front of this door?

_Because she knows me, she sees through my defenses, I've always been the most comfortable around her. And I want to be near her forever…_

He reached for the knob just as the door swung open causing him to stumble forward. He balanced himself out and looked up. That's when he saw her peering at him from the doorway. Her hair was messed up and her cheeks were flushed. She seemed to be in a hurry.

He was puzzled. "Where are you going-----"

"--------out to find you" she answered.

"Oh."

He started. "I'mreallysorryabouteverything…"

Unfortunately she started at the same time.

"I'msorrythatIdidn'ttrustyouIknowyou'dnever…"

There was a tense silence as they stared at each other for a moment. They cleared their throats at the same time. Unspoken words crackled in the air around them.

Abruptly they started to kiss and touch lightly, right there on the front porch. They kissed gently at first, then the kiss became harder, increasing with fervor and strength. It was a show for the whole neighborhood.

Seconds later, they breathlessly broke apart. "So, what's that surprise you wanted."

She leaned forward, whispered a few words into his ears and patted her stomach.

The excitement she saw in his eyes caused her to smile. They kissed again, pushing past the doorway. The door slammed shut a second later.

Next door, two nosey figures had watched intently as the scene unfolded.

"What the hell was that, a few hours ago, they were at each other's throats?" old man Robinson exclaimed.

Gretchen laughed. "I knew those two would work it out. I know true love when I see it."

He waved his hand dismissively. "Bah, what do you know about love?"

She glared at him. "Well for one thing, I'm still sitting next to your cranky behind."

Robinson stared at his wife, momentarily defeated. Realizing that he had nothing else to come back with, he closed his eyes and resumed rocking back and forth peacefully.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writting it. Read and review of course 


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